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To Kill a Mockingbird
A Novel By: Harper Lee
---Next to each statement put a “1” if you strongly agree, a “2” if you somewhat agree, a “3” if you somewhat disagree, and a “4” if you strongly disagree. ---List one reason after each.
1. All men are created equal.2. Under our justice system, all citizens are
created equal by the court system. 3. It’s okay to be different. 4. Nobody is all good, or all bad. 5. Some words are so offensive, they should
never be written or stated. 6. The old saying, “Sticks and stones may break
my bones, but words will never hurt me,” is true.
7. No one is above the law.
About the author: She was born in 1926 in
Monroeville, Alabama (the fictional “Maycomb, Alabama”)
Her father “Amasa” was a lawyer whom she deeply admired
Her mother’s maiden name was “Finch”
Her own childhood mirrors that of the character “Scout”
In 1960 she published her only novel – “To Kill a Mockingbird”
It received the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1961
Since 1960, “To Kill a Mockingbird” has never been out of print
At age 81, she is alive and resides in New York
She rarely makes public appearances or gives interviews
About the novel …
To Kill a Mockingbird published in 1960Took 2 ½ years to writeVery PopularBest Seller for 1 ½ yearsMade into a movie
1961: Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Similarities between the author and the novel
Novel is NOT autobiographical Towns
Monroeville & Maycomb: similar layout and size Fathers
Both Lawyers Lee’s father’s middle is Finch; Finch is the last name
of family Both had genuine humility and natural dignity
Time Frame Lee same age as Scout at the time the story takes
place
Setting Maycomb, AL 1933-1935
During the Great Depression• Stock market crash
Deep South• Segregation and Racism• Although slavery has long been abolished, the
Southerners in Maycomb continue to believe in white supremacy.
Map of Maycomb
Characters
Scout Jem Atticus Finch Calpurnia Dill Boo Radley Miss Maudie Tom Robinson
Miss Caroline Bob Ewell Mayella Ewell Mr. Cunningham Heck Tate Mrs. Dubose
Point of View
1st Person Told by someone in the story. The “I”
person is the narrator also. Everything is told from one perspective.
2nd Person Told from the you perspective. Very rarely
used and a difficult form to write in. 3rd Person
Told from an outside force looking in. This narrator is all knowing and sees everything. The perspectives of all the characters can be seen.
To Kill a Mockingbird’s Point of ViewIn this novel the story is told
from Scout’s point of view (1st person).
The novel is primarily told by the child, Scout, but
the narrator also uses the fact that it has been
years since the event to fill in other details
(showing maturity).
Themes …
Racial Prejudice Social Snobbery Morality Tolerance Patience Equality The Need for Compassion The Need for Conscience
Life During the 1930s
The Great Depression sweeps the nation – Many families do not even have money for basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter.
The per capita income for families in Alabama (and Oklahoma) is $125 - $250 a year
Many southern blacks pick cotton for a living
Franklin D. Roosevelt is President
Life During 1930s
Hitler is Chancellor of Germany He believes that Jews, African
Americans, and other races are inferior to Anglo-Saxons.
In 1936, Jesse Owens, a black American athlete, traveled to Germany to participate in the Summer Olympics.
Owens’ biggest competitor in the long jump was a German named Luz Long.
Despite racial tensions, the two became good friends.
Jesse Owens won the gold medal and Long won the silver.
Long was later killed during World War II, and Jesse Owens traveled back to Germany to pay his respects when the war was over.
Legal Segregation in Alabama, 1923-1940 No white female nurses in
hospitals that treat black men
Separate passenger cars for whites and blacks
Separate waiting rooms for whites and blacks
Separation of white and black convicts
Separate schools No interracial marriages Segregated water fountains Segregated theatres
Morphine: A Southern Lady’s Drug 1930s Typical Morphine
Addict: White female Middle-aged or older Widowed Homebound Lives in the south Property owner Began using
morphine for medical reasons (pain relief)
In “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the Finch children will become acquainted with a morphine addict named Mrs. Dubose. Although only a fictitious character, she personifies the American morphine addict of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
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